


Champion

by forkflinger



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Arena Combat, Background Asterius/Theseus, Developing Relationship, F/M, honor duel, it might be platonic? it might not...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27403495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forkflinger/pseuds/forkflinger
Summary: Asterius has been spending a lot of time with Dusa lately, and Theseus reacts in the only way he knows how: by challenging her to a duel for honor. Fortunately, Prince Zagreus is willing to step in as Dusa's champion, and fight in her stead to defend this new connection between Asterius and Dusa. But then, it doesn't quite work out that way...
Relationships: Asterius | The Minotaur (Hades Video Game)/Dusa (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 65





	Champion

The arena was oddly quiet, the audience subdued. That may have been because, for once, Theseus was alone. 

“Huh,” said Zagreus as he entered. “Where’s your companion?”

“He is elsewhere,” Theseus replied, “at my request. I wished to meet with you alone. Demon, I would ask a favor of you.”

“A favor? From me?” Zagreus scratched his head. “Uh, I suppose it depends on the favor.”

“You know the green Gorgon who has been with Asterius so often of late, correct?”

“Her name’s Dusa,” Zagreus answered, his eyes narrowing. “Why?”

“You’ve called her to this arena before. I would ask that you do so again.”

Zagreus did have Dusa’s Cthonic Companion with him at the moment, and had called upon her once already. “And why would you ask me to do that?”

Theseus’s face was hard to read, devoid of its usual gleaming bravado. “I would like to speak with her.”

Zagreus pulled the small stuffed snake from his robe. “I could do that,” he said, bouncing it in his hand, “but to be honest, I don’t feel too inclined to do you any favors, considering the way you’ve treated me.”

“Then I offer you a trade! In exchange…” Theseus took a deep breath. “I will allow you passage through my arena, unchallenged, once!”

Zagreus raised an eyebrow. “How about forever?”

“Twice!”

“A hundred times?”

“Three occasions!”

“Ten? How about ten.”

Theseus hesitated, but nodded. “The deal is struck, demon. Now bring forth your monster.”

Zagreus shrugged and raised the snake. “Hey, Dusa?”

Dusa flashed into the arena, snakes hissing, ready for combat. When she noticed no one was fighting, she instantly reverted to her usual self. “Prince Zagreus? What’s up?”

“This gentleman would like to have a word with you,” Zagreus answered, gesturing to Theseus.

Dusa turned to look, and flinched. “Oh! Um, King Theseus! Can I… help you?”

Theseus clashed his spear against his shield. “Demon!” he shouted, his voice echoing around the arena. “I challenge you in the field of combat!”

Dusa’s eyes went wide and she flew backwards. “Y-you want to _fight_ me?”

“Of course!” Theseus slammed the butt of his spear against the ground. “A fight for the honor of my loyal companion, Asterius!”

“Hang on,” said Zagreus, taking a step forward. “Since when does Asterius need you to defend his honor? And what could Dusa possibly have done that you need to fight her about it?”

Theseus puffed his chest, ready to make a speech. “This foul demon has lured my companion to the furthest depths of the Underworld, far from the fields of Elysium.”

“So they’ve been spending time together?” Zagreus interrupted. “And you have a problem with that?”

“The demon has seduced him!”

Dusa gasped. “I did not!”

“Oh, you can’t fool me! I know not how you compel him, whether it be lies or magic, but I intend to free him from your thrall!”

“He’s not under any thrall!” Dusa responded, her voice getting dangerously high-pitched. “That’s crazy!”

“I think you’re really overestimating Dusa’s abilities there, mate. Pretty sure she can’t control minds. And while Dusa has a lot of charms and a lovely smile...” Zagreus glanced at Dusa with an apologetic smile. “I’m not sure she’d have much luck with, um, seduction.”

Dusa’s cheeks went pink and she looked away. 

“She doesn’t need a body to debase my companion!” Theseus announced, which just made Dusa blush harder. “I’m sure she has all sorts of nasty tricks.”

Zagreus raised an eyebrow. “Spent a lot of time thinking about that, have you?”

“P-Prince Zagreus!” Dusa was almost on the ground now, covering her face with snakes.

“Sorry, you’re right, that was terribly inappropriate.” Zagreus crouched down and patted her. “How about I make it up to you by killing him for you?”

Dusa looked up. “Huh?”

“Generally,” Zagreus said as he stood up, “one is allowed to declare a champion in a situation like this. Would you agree, king?”

Theseus glared at Zagreus. “That is correct,” he said through a clenched jaw.

“Well then, I volunteer.” The prince held out his hand and his magnificent spear appeared in a flash of light. “I will fight as Dusa’s champion. Even brought the appropriate weapon.”

Theseus’s face scrunched up like he’d just eaten a rotten grape. “Very well,” he declared, hefting his spear. “It would be my pleasure to skewer you yet again, demon!”

Zagreus sighed. “You could use my name once in a while. But if we’re going to do this, we might as well do it properly.” He gestured at the stands around him. “You want your big entrance, don’t you?”

Theseus took a breath before turning on his heel and stomping away. Zagreus turned as well, and Dusa bobbed along behind him as they went back out the way they came. The massive doors slammed behind them.

“Prince, really, you don’t have to do this,” said Dusa, trembling.

“It’s no trouble. I’ve fought him before, remember? And beaten him.” Zagreus examined his spear, testing the balance. “I was hardly going to let him fight you, but I also couldn’t possibly let him get away with all that honor nonsense about you and Asterius.”

Dusa wondered if her cheeks would just get stuck cherry-red. “Um. Right. He - I mean, we - we have been spending a lot of time together - when I wasn’t working, of course! But it’s not - I - I didn’t, I didn’t _seduce_ him!”

“Dusa, it’s fine.” He smiled at her gently enough that she actually believed it. “I think it’s great.”

“Y-you do?”

“Yes. Asterius seems very nice, when he’s not killing me.”

“He is,” Dusa sighed. “He’s really nice, and kind, and smart, and he’s got the cutest - “ She cut herself off with a squeak. “Sorry! I - I - I - I shouldn’t have said - oh!”

Zagreus chuckled. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s find you a seat so you get a good view of me defending your honor. Or Asterius’s honor. Or… whatever it is I’m fighting for.”

Zagreus led Dusa up a staircase that curled around the stadium. The crowds of shades parted like water around them, almost formless, almost faceless, almost voiceless. Dusa tried not to shudder when she brushed against one. Zagreus, on the other hand, seemed to go out of his way to touch them - a hand on the shoulder, a pat on the back, harmless touches. The shades would lean into him, and every so often one extended a faint appendage in return. Dusa had watched Lord Hades handling the shades in his court of course, but she hadn’t thought the prince would be so… gentle.

Eventually they arrived at the front row of seats. Zagreus tapped the shoulder of an unusually-colored shade, warm and red. “Excuse me.”

The shade turned its not-face towards Zagreus and gasped.

Zagreus smiled politely. “D’you mind if my friend sits next to you?”

The shade nodded.

“Thanks, mate.” Zagreus patted the stone bench. “There you go, Dusa. You just wait right here and enjoy the show.”

Dusa didn’t technically need a seat, but she hovered slightly above the surface of the stone. “G-good luck, Prince!”

Zagreus grinned and dashed off, leaving fiery footprints in his wake. Dusa hummed to herself, quietly, trying not to bite her lip. Her snakes swirled around her, almost like they were trying to comfort her. One nuzzled her cheek, and she sighed.

“Hey again.”

Dusa shrieked, leaping out of her seat, and whirled to see Zagreus. “P-prince Zagreus! W-w-what are you doing here?”

“What else? Watching the show. Do you think you could scoot down a little more?” he asked, addressing the red shade.

The red shade nodded rapidly and moved, making a space for Zagreus to sit. Dusa hovered in front of him. “I - I don’t understand, weren’t you going to fight King Theseus? All that... stuff about being m-my champion?”

“I was,” Zagreus answered, leaning back and getting comfortable. “And I would, still, if you needed it. But I ran into someone else who wanted the job today.”

“W-who?”

Zagreus didn’t answer. Instead, he held something out. She took it reflexively without even looking, a snake wrapping securely around it. The crowd roared and she whipped around to face the arena.

Theseus had stepped out, gleaming with a fresh layer of oil. He grinned and waved at the crowd, making sure to displayas many muscles as possible.

Then the other door opened, and Dusa’s champion entered.

The crowd went silent. It was Theseus who broke the silence.

“Asterius?”

Asterius entered the arena, his heavy footfalls making the ground rumble. “My king,” he said, bowing his head.

“Where’s the demon gone? Run off like a coward?”

“The short one isn’t coming. I am Dusa’s champion.”

Dusa squeaked, and the sound echoed through the strangely quiet arena. Asterius looked straight at her. She dropped behind the railing and out of sight.

“Prince Zagreus!” she hissed. “What’s going on?”

“He was waiting by the door,” Zagreus answered casually. He was signing his name on a scrap of paper while the red shade quivered. “He simply told me that he wanted to be your champion, and I saw no reason to disagree. Now, come on,” he said, handing the autograph to the shade and leaning forward, “up where he can see you. You have to cheer him on properly.”

The snake holding the thing lowered it in front of her eyes, and when she managed to focus, she squealed again. It was a small, triangular pennant with a striking portrait of Asterius, mounted on a stick.

Dusa swallowed hard and took a breath. A few breaths. Then, slowly, she rose until she could peer over the railing again.

Asterius stood across from Theseus, impassive as a mountain, even when Theseus raised his voice.

“Asterius, what has she done to you?”

“Nothing,” Asterius answered calmly.

“Don’t be ridiculous! I knew she was poisoning your mind somehow, but to think she could turn you against me…!”

“She did no such thing.” Asterius snorted. “I am here because I choose to be.”

“But you are my closest companion! No, you would never fight me for the sake of some lowly monster - “

Asterius snorted and stomped one earthshaking hoof. “Your words are ungracious, my king.”

“Asterius…” Theseus closed his eyes for a moment. Then he stood up straight. “Very well!” he declared. “If this is really what you want, then I suppose I have no choice! This is for your own good, my friend.” He hefted his shield and dropped into a wide stance. “I will defeat you, and in doing so, save you from her!”

Asterius unstrapped his massive axe from his back. He did not speak. He charged.

Dusa shrieked, floating up past the railing. “No no no no no! He - he’s going to get hurt! Killed!”

“Don’t be so sure,” said Zagreus from just behind her. “He’s a mighty fighter, and he’s got a lot at stake.”

Asterius swung his axe sideways, a powerful blow that would have taken Theseus’s head clean off if he hadn’t rolled out of the way. Theseus sprang from his crouch and threw his spear. It glanced off Asterius’s shoulder, leaving just a scratch. Asterius moved surprisingly fast for his size; before Theseus could recall his spear he was on him, bearing down with his axe, which clanged against the shield like thunder.

“Fear not,” Theseus grunted, struggling to keep his shield up against Asterius’s strength, “for I will defeat you, my friend.”

Asterius let his axe slip to the side, but Theseus once again dodged the blow. He leapt away and back, lifting his spear and preparing to throw. Asterius, in turn, paced between the columns, waiting with the coiled tension of a viper.

“Asterius!” Theseus shouted. “Come back to me! You are stronger than this demon’s control. Don’t let her force you to do this!”

With a yell, Theseus launched the spear. It blazed across the arena, a streak of light in the air, and buried itself in Asterius’s shoulder. Asterius fell to one knee as the audience gasped; Dusa covered her eyes, but couldn’t help but peek.

Before the spear could return to its master’s hand, Asterius grabbed the shaft. It splintered under his hand like a toothpick. As he rose to his feet he tossed down the useless stick that was once Theseus’s weapon and stalked across the dirt.

Theseus backed away, but without his spear he couldn’t strike from behind the shield. He threw it down and took a wide stance, arms outspread. Asterius followed suit, letting his massive axe fall to the side.

“Oh, come on,” Zagreus complained. “You’ve got his spear, just chop his head off and we can all go home.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Dusa chirped. “It’s not honorable, you know?”

Zagreus scoffed, but Dusa couldn’t take her eyes off the fight. Asterius lowered his head, kicking his hoof against the dirt and preparing to charge. With a roar, he surged towards Theseus, who screamed wordlessly, arms extended, and caught Asterius by the horns. He tried to twist, to flip Asterius, but Asterius reached forward and seized Theseus by the waist before he could get leverage. Asterius heaved, bucking his head and lifting to toss Theseus in the air. Theseus fell onto Asterius’s horn; it pierced his stomach clear through, the bright pink tip now red with gore. Theseus went limp.

The crowd started cheering. Zagreus whistled. “That looked painful.”

Dusa was shaking, staring wide eyed at the gruesome scene. Asterius’s face was coated with the blood dripping from the wound. He lowered his head and Theseus slid off, landing heavy. Asterius rolled him onto his back and straightened his limbs before kneeling next to him.

“I have won,” he said, simply.

Theseus was still breathing, although he clearly wouldn’t be for long. He had enough left in him for a wet cough and a groan. “Then I have failed you, my friend.”

“My king.” Asterius took the king’s hand, slick with blood, and held it between his own. “You are mistaken. I chose this fight of my own free will. You have no enemies here.”

“She - “ Theseus’s eyes flickered towards Dusa, a floating green dot in the stands. “She took you from me.”

“She has done no such thing.” Asterius also looked to the stands, where he met Dusa’s eye. He turned his attention back to the dying Theseus. “I knew no love in life,” he said. “Here, I have learned of love from you, and for that I will forever be yours.” He squeezed Theseus’s hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss the back gently. “Dusa has taught me another kind of love, and I have learned that my heart is larger than I ever could have imagined. There is room for both my king and my cherished one.”

Theseus took a rattled breath. “I suppose she doesn’t take up much room,” he wheezed, then coughed out a weak laugh. “My dearest friend… I am blessed to have you at my side. I ask only that you stay, until I have gone.”

“Of course, my king. And I will be there when you rise again, as always.”

“Um…” Dusa’s voice was quiet and tremulous. She had drifted down from the stands and now hovered near Asterius’s shoulder. Zagreus trailed behind her, having come down the stairs the traditional way. “Mister King Theseus, sir? I - I want you to know that I’m sorry if - if Asterius spending time with me is a problem for you, b-but - !” She took a deep breath and furrowed her brow. “That doesn’t mean you get to be so rude! And - and he can do whatever he wants, and I’m not - I’m, I’m not _seducing_ him! So! I think that maybe you should say you’re sorry!” She deflated, just a bit. “If that’s okay.”

Theseus smiled, losing the strength to do anything more. “If you have captured the heart of my dear Asterius so securely, then you cannot be as foul as I had believed.”

Dusa frowned. “Is that an apology?”

Zagreus shook his head. “I think it’s as close to one as you’ll get from him,” he said. 

The blood pooling under Theseus was growing. The Styx rose, slowly, preparing to carry him away. He used his last breath to call, “Asterius…!”

Asterius bent down and kissed him reverently on the forehead. “My king,” he murmured. Then, he released Theseus’s hand, and they all watched as he slipped silently into the Styx.

When the red waters receded, Asterius sighed and stood up. There was a moment of silence, during which Dusa was biting her lip and visibly quivering.

“Hey,” she said at last, zooming in front of Asterius, “um, I’m really, really sorry about - about everything. I - I can’t imagine how hard it was, just now, and I, um, i-if you don’t want - I mean, I get it, if you’d rather be, y’know, with him, then I’ll - I won’t stop you, not that I could, because you can make your own choices so if you - “

“Cherished one.” Asterius placed his hand under her chin and tilted her, gently, to look in her eyes. “Do not fret. I have no intention of leaving.”

“Oh,” she said, quietly. And then, “Good.”

Zagreus cleared his throat. “I’ll just be going then, yeah?”

Dusa yelped like she’d forgotten he was there. Asterius nodded. “Thank you for defending her.”

“Hey, any time. Dusa’s a good friend. And don’t let me hear that you’ve been anything less than a perfect gentleman, you understand?”

“Prince Zagreus!” Dusa squeaked, her cheeks flushing. Asterius just chuckled.

“I don’t want to have to fight for your honor again,” Zagreus replied, already walking away. “The surface awaits. You kids have fun.”

“Good luck, Prince!” Dusa called. Zagreus waved one more time before dashing through the broad doors of the arena, which closed behind him.

Dusa let out a long breath, all her snakes drooping. “That was… really stressful,” she said with half a laugh. Then she turned and gasped. “You’re hurt!”

The remains of the spear still protruded from Asterius’s shoulder. Dusa floated up to it, prodding it with a snake. “Oh, oh no, oh does it hurt? What am I saying, of course it hurts, we’ve gotta get you bandaged and - “

Asterius patted her gently on the cheek. “I will heal,” he said. Then, with one swift movement, he reached up and yanked the spearhead from his shoulder. Dusa shrieked as it brought with it a spray of blood that quickly tapered away into nothing.

“You’re not supposed to _do_ that!” she cried as Asterius dropped the spearhead. “You’re supposed to leave it! Oh, oh no oh no, oh oh oh I - I have to, I have to, b-bandages!”

“I will heal,” Asterius repeated, examining his own wound. The flow of blood had already dried up, and soon Elysium would seal the wound without so much as a scar. He sat on a chunk of fallen column and extended his arm. “Will you sit with me, cherished one?”

Dusa shivered at the endearment; he’d said it so many times by now but she still wasn’t used to it. “O-okay,” she said as she drifted over to him. “I mean, you.. y-you are my champion, after all…”

She giggled, and he smiled. Gently, he led her into his lap, where he wrapped both arms around her securely, a wall against the world, a little spot of safety. She nuzzled against his chest, unthinkingly, and caught herself halfway through the action. When she looked up, he was gazing down at her with soft eyes that made her tingle, in a nice way. After a few seconds, though, she had to look away.

“Um… t-thank you.”

Asterius sighed, his huge chest rising and falling with his breath. “My king is, I suspect, not accustomed to having to share affections.”

“Um, yeah. I think kings are just, um, like that?” Dusa frowned. “Maybe not. I guess I don’t know that many kings.”

“He will learn,” Asterius replied. “I cannot give back to him that which is now yours.”

“Oh. Um. A-all that stuff about, about, um, your… your heart? And the, uh, other thing you said.” Her snakes squirmed like they were trying to hide under each other. “It was really sweet. And, I, um. I - “ Dusa took a deep breath. “I’m not as good at, at just saying stuff, sometimes? I mean, I really, really don’t want to say the wrong thing, and I don’t want to make you feel weird or bad or, or, y’know? Um. But I, I mean, I’m - I just, um. M-me too.”

Asterius did not answer her with words. He bent down and kissed her, gently, still cradling her. Dusa relaxed into it, closing her eyes, letting the simple warmth of the moment calm her frazzled nerves, safe in the arms of her champion.


End file.
